The statement, issued at StarWars.com, declares that Michael Arndt – who won an Academy Award for his screenplay to Little Miss Sunshine, and was nominated again for writing Toy Story 3 with Lee Unkrich, Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter – will "write the screenplay for the new Star Wars film." No mention is made of future films in the perhaps inevitable trilogy, but if Disney plans to work off of Arndt's treatment, we can only imagine that it sets up future films in the franchise.

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly if you factor in just how daunting the task of taking the reins of the Star Wars franchise must be, many major directors are telling the press that they have no interest in doing Episode VII. Matthew Vaughn has been heavily rumored, Disney has been mum on who they are actively considering and taking meetings with. But if they have a story they're excited about, and are serious about meeting that 2015 release date, we can expect an announcement relatively soon.